A Man Called Sledge

1970

Action / Western

Synopsis

Outlaw Luther Sledge and sidekick Mallory pull into the town of 3 W for an overnight stay. While Sledge heads upstairs to spend the night with long-time prostitute friend Ria and a bottle of rye, his sidekick Mallory enters a game of poker downstairs in the saloon. Frustrated with loosing their money to Mallory, two of the other gamblers shoot him dead. Alerted to the downstairs gunshot noise, Sledge descends in the saloon, pretending he's drunk, catches the two gamblers unprepared and shoots them dead. An old man who witnessed the shooting offers to serve as Sledge's witness and swear it was self-defense in case of an inquiry. The next day, Sledge leaves town to meet with the rest of his gang in the hills. He notices the old man from the saloon following him on horseback some distance away. Sledge stops the old man and asks him why he is following behind. The old man explains that he is not following Sledge but rather a convoy escorting a gold shipment. Interested, Sledge takes him ...

Outlaw Luther Sledge and sidekick Mallory pull into the town of 3 W for an overnight stay. While Sledge heads upstairs to spend the night with long-time prostitute friend Ria and a bottle of rye, his sidekick Mallory enters a game of poker downstairs in the saloon. Frustrated with loosing their money to Mallory, two of the other gamblers shoot him dead. Alerted to the downstairs gunshot noise, Sledge descends in the saloon, pretending he's drunk, catches the two gamblers unprepared and shoots them dead. An old man who witnessed the shooting offers to serve as Sledge's witness and swear it was self-defense in case of an inquiry. The next day, Sledge leaves town to meet with the rest of his gang in the hills. He notices the old man from the saloon following him on horseback some distance away. Sledge stops the old man and asks him why he is following behind. The old man explains that he is not following Sledge but rather a convoy escorting a gold shipment. Interested, Sledge takes him ...

Tech specs

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by Spikeopath8 / 10

Luther Sledge.

A Man Called Sledge is directed by Vic Morrow and Morrow co-writes the screenplay with Frank Kowalski. It stars James Garner, Dennis Weaver, Claude Akins, John Marley, Laura Antonelli, Wayde Preston and Ken Clarke. Music is by Gianni Ferrio and cinematography by Luigi Kuveiller.

Luther Sledge (Garner) is a wanted outlaw who upon hearing about a huge gold shipment stored in a prison, promptly assembles his gang and sets about executing a daring robbery.

A Pasta Western filmed in Technicolor/Techniscope out of Andalucia in Spain, A Man Called Sledge is a most interesting and entertaining addition to this splinter of Westerns. From the off we are in no doubt that Garner is serving up a character not of his normal portrayal varieties, here he's not heroic, all American or a lovable rogue, he's a bad egg, gruff, rough and tough, and driven by law breaking activities. Added into the mix is a rather cheeky premise, that of gold being stored in a working prison, which is naturally heavily fortified, protected and seemingly impossible to breach, but Sledge and his cohorts have other ideas that gives the narrative and dramatic drive much strength.

You couldn't take it with a pope!

In spite of the odd flecks of humour, such as a terrific organ sequence and Akins' constant cynical asides (both orally and visually), pic is grim in texture, there will be blood and the unfurling of other hateful human traits. Morrow knows his Pasta Oaters, both as regards visual ticks and via characterisations. So we get camera zooms, low level up-tilts and spins, while the characters range from the foolish to the greedy - to the twitchy and the dumb - and even a howling man! The story plays out through differing back drops, be it a snow storm, an arid landscape or a sweaty bar - not least the imposing prison at the centre of the plot - Morrow is taking his story through visual variations.

I would have died for you Sledge!

There are a number of great scenes to enjoy, usually where action is concerned, not least the quite exhilarating show-piece involving a jailbreak, where here we are treated to top stunt work as dynamite and a Gatling Gun join the usual bullets and blood carnage. Cards are a big feature, as are crosses - cum - crucifixes, the latter providing some striking (and scary) imagery. While all the time Ferrio's varied musical score hits all the right Pasta Western notes. Hell! even the irritating theme song is hauntingly chaotic and thus fitting once the pic reaches its denouement. With the mostly American cast turning in good perfs, and Morrow proving deft at genre compliance, this is very much an under valued pic and worthy of either seeking out for a first time view or for reevaluation purpose. 7.5/10

Reviewed by Wuchak6 / 10

James Garner leads an outlaw gang with gold fever

Released in 1970 and directed by Vic Morrow (and Giorgio Gentili), "A Man Called Sledge" stars James Garner as the leader of an outlaw gang, who experience gold fever after hearing about a cache of gold temporarily stored at a desert prison. They hatch a harebrained heist, but things go awry due to their greedy obsessions. Dennis Weaver and Claude Akins play members of the gang while John Marley appears as an old man who joins them. Laura Antonelli is on hand as the striking babe while Wayde Preston appears as the sheriff.

Aside from his TV work with shows like Maverick and Cheyenne, Garner only appeared in nine Westerns with just four being serious Westerns (rather than comedy-tinged Westerns). "A Man Called Sledge" was the last of those four and his character, Luther Sledge, is a far cry from likable gambler Bret Maverick or heroic Jess Remsberg in "Duel at Diablo" (1966) or the determined Wyatt Earp in "Hour of the Gun" (1967). Even as an outlaw, though, Garner still has his genial charm, but when innocents start dying due to his lucre-hungry schemes he pretty much loses all sympathy. And his band of owlhoots get zero sympathy from the get-go.

While often referred to as a Spaghetti Western, "Sledge" is actually a Dino De Laurentiis production with an American director/writer (Morrow) and main cast, but shot in Spain with Italians and other Europeans in peripheral positions (cast & production); for instance, the Spaghetti-flavored music by Gianni Ferrio.

The movie comes across as a mish-mash of Sergio Leone Westerns, "The War Wagon" (1967), "Mackenna's Gold" (1969), "The Wild Bunch" (1969) and "There was a Crooked Man" (1970). But with a few imaginative elements, such as the wintery opening, which is rare for a Western, and the funeral component at the Mexican village in the final act, not to mention the quirky late 60s-ish theme song repeated throughout. Also the opening gunfight in the saloon is thrilling and I like how the film closes with a pretty moving moral. It's even haunting. Unfortunately, the movie features some clumsy editing in the third act starting with the card game and the immediate aftermath.

Dark US/Italian western

A MAN CALLED SLEDGE is a US/Italian western featuring a starring role for TV actor James Garner. It very much feels like a US rather than a spaghetti western, and it has a notably dark and nihilistic streak that makes it worth a look for those who think they've seen everything the genre has to offer. Garner plays the usual sharpshooter who teams up with a few ne'er-do-wells (including character actors Claude Akins and Dennis Weaver) in order to rob a gold shipment that's heavily guarded.

The most entertaining part of the movie is the midsection which sees Garner going undercover in prison in order to effect a breakout. There are some memorably kooky character creations here and oodles of suspense. The film gets grimmer and grimmer as it goes on, building to a climactic shoot-out which works well and fits the subject matter like a glove.